Historian discusses America's introduction to modern warfare

World War I historian Terrence J. Finnegan visits Wheaton this week to discuss his book about the American military's first battles on the Western Front in 1917-18, regarded as the beginning of modern warfare.

Published in 2015, Finnegan's work is titled, "A Delicate Affair on the Western Front: America Learns How to Fight a Modern War in the Woëvre Trenches." He'll discuss it beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, in the Visitors Center at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.

U.S. troops arrived in France in 1917 and, soon after, the Army's First Division became the first American military unit responsible for defending French territory. Finnegan details the 1918 battle at Seicheprey, including the "Big Red One's" heroic response to the elite German storm troopers who mounted the surprise attack.

Finnegan is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and senior civil servant whose career spans more than four decades of military and government service. His work involved analysis, production and planning within the defense department, as well as assignments all over the world. He also wrote "Shooting the Front: Allied Aerial Reconnaissance in the First World War."

Copies of "A Delicate Affair" may be purchased in the Cantigny Shop Sept. 7. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The program and parking are free.

This event is part of the First Division Museum's Date with History, a monthly series featuring discussions with authors, panelists, historians and special guests.

For information about upcoming programs, visit firstdivisionmuseum.org.